You probably recall reaching for your barf bag when Newt Gingrich called President Obama the “food stamp” president who doesn’t like to work. Much worse than being on food stamps, Newt was a lobbyist and you know people choose that lifestyle whereas poor people do not chose to starve. Of course, that’s the level of discourse you get in a Republican debate. Fear not, Newt also volunteered to take it to the NAACP to explain to the African American community how he would be a paycheck president instead of a food stamp president, demonstrating that he is misinformed as to who is actually on food stamps in addition to who put them there and also how many people are enrolling for food stamps.

Needless to say, it’s not true that Obama enrolled more people on food stamps than any other president. In fact, more recipients were added to the food stamp rolls under Bush than under Obama according to FactCheck.

Gingrich goes too far to say Obama has put more on the rolls than other presidents. We asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition service for month-by-month figures going back to January 2001. And they show that under President George W. Bush the number of recipients rose by nearly 14.7 million. Nothing before comes close to that.

And under Obama, the increase so far has been 14.2 million. To be exact, the program has so far grown by 444,574 fewer recipients during Obama’s time in office than during Bush’s.

They go on to mention that the enrollment has gone down and the economy is getting better, but let us not be distracted in our mission to create a false universe for the Republican base. After all, any time a negative narrative full of untruths is uttered anywhere in the galaxy, Fox News is there to amplify it until you hear it from every single-celled troll on the internet.

Fox News has been going on the food stamp president with gusto, even including their favorite trick of the Misleading Chart! What’s not to like? It smears the President for having to clean up after Bush’s economic debacle, it’s a racist dog whistle, it implies that black people are on food stamps more than whites (not true), it gives their audience someone new to hate and most importantly, it’s easy enough for their propaganda activists to repeat without getting confused.

Of course, Fox News doesn’t tell their cult are that the people most likely to be on food stamps aren’t in blue states like California, but in red states like Mississippi, where more than 21% are on food stamps. Mississippi is also distinguished as the reddest of the red states, along with Wyoming. In other words, the food stamp users are Fox News’ base. Naturally, they hate themselves. Wouldn’t you?

Fox News must be getting bored with ‘food stamp president,’ so they’re expanding their Bubble now to link food stamp usage to fraud (I can’t wait to see James O’Keefe dressed up like a food stamp pimp successfully defrauding the government! Pssst, James: This time, you might want to read up on the law before you play your little reindeer games.).

Liberal idea of currency? I think not, sir. It is clearly the currency of welfare red states first and foremost, if we are making such distinctions.

Food Stamp Usage

Just to be clear, though, Fox News is saying you people in Mississippi are defrauding the government. However, it seems it’s the retailers ripping off the food stamp program for profit, exchanging food stamps for money at a rate of 50 cents on the dollar. Yes, it’s the job creators stealing from the government — big shock. There goes another colored man stealing from the government meme up in smoke.

Here’s a food stamp reality check from the Wall Street Journal (also owned by Murdoch but apparently Fox News researchers were unable to find this information even though it comes up first on Google for me, a non-Fox watcher) from last November:

Food stamp rolls exploded during the downturn, which began in late 2007. Even after the recession came to its official end in June 2009, families continued to tap into food assistance as unemployment remained high and those lucky enough to find jobs were often met with lower wages.

States also made changes to make it easier for residents to tap into the program, such as waiving requirements that limited the value of assets food stamp recipients could own.

Yes you read that right. States made it easier for residents to tap into the food stamp program. Is Nikki Haley a food stamp governor? The percentage of the population on food stamps in South Carolina in 2011 was 18.2 percent, up from from 2010 when only 7.1 percent were on food stamps.

If you want to know who uses the most food stamps, just look to the South. Yes, the same South that votes reflexively Republican. In fact, Huffington Post reported in June of 2011, “States with smaller populations participate in food stamp programs most often, particularly in the South, where as many as 20 percent of the population is found to use food stamps.”

Remember, it’s the states that made the food stamp program easier to tap into. So, if these simpletons want to blame someone for enrolling people for food stamps, they need to start with their beloved Southern states (see: liberty and freedom). However, making food available to our citizens shouldn’t really be a thing of shame. For example, Mississippi has suffered from disasters like the Gulf Oil Spill that have further hurt their economy and about 1 million disaster victims (e.g., Alabama tornado victims) from several states were added to the rolls in 2011.

Should we have let them starve? What say you, conservative Fox watchers from Mississippi, South Carolina and Alabama — yes, we should have let you starve or no, we did the right thing in lending a helping hand?

Also of note, the food stamp explosion began at the economic downturn, in 2007 (even WSJ admits this factual truth). We recall that there was another dude in the White House then, but Republicans pretend he never existed.

President Obama explained to Diane Sawyer during an ABC World News interview last night that he doesn’t put people on food stamps or make them eligible for them, “First of all, I don’t put people on food stamps. People become eligible for food stamps. Second of all, the initial expansion of food-stamp eligibility happened under my Republican predecessor, not under me. Number three, when you have a disastrous economic crash that results in 8 million people losing their jobs, more people are going to need more support from government.”

Good point, Mr. President. Compassion is no longer a Republican value, and odder yet is the fact that it is their own base they are attacking. Psychologically, this makes perfect sense for the authoritarian mind set who would be attracted to the modern day Republican Party. It has something to do with deep shame resulting in being very familiar and most comfortable being punished and ridiculed in private, but externalizing that inner hate in order to cope by projecting it onto others whom one can then “hate” with gusto. It’s a form of scapegoating, but with a darker and sadder overtone, emanating as it does from self-loathing and feelings of impotent shame.

The self-loathing of Republicans is truly troubling, but so too is the ceaseless compassion of Democrats even as they are scapegoated again and again. After years of being blamed for caring about red states who vote against their own economic interests while they rob blue states blind in federal subsidies, it might be time for some tough love.

Fox News and Republicans live in a fantasy world of made up reality where they spend their time pointing their fingers outward, lathered up in sanctimonious, self-righteous rage based on lies and paranoia. The ‘food stamp president’ narrative is just one more lie holding up their false cardboard world. Sadly, they have no idea how absurd and pathetic they are because they are too emotionally and mentally distant from reality to recognize it.

Ms. Jones is a Senior White House and Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Since joining Politicus in February of 2009, Sarah has been quoted by Talking Points Memo, The Atlantic Wire, CNN, MSNBC, The Week, The Hollywood Reporter, The Richard Dawkins Foundation and more. Sarah co-hosts Politicus Radio with Jason Easley and is the political correspondent for KPTR 1450's California Woman 411, hosted by Dee Jae Cox. Sarah is an award-winning producer with a background in TV/Film (TV host, news anchor, producer & writer) and a member of the Screen Actors Guild/AFTRA and SPJ. Sarah graduated Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a major in Psychology & minor in Latin. She spends her free time dancing (ballet) and horseback riding (English).

46 Responses to Fox News And The GOP Are Wrong: Red States Use The Most Food Stamps

Shiva (Moderator)

Sun, Jan 29th, 2012 at 10:20 am

The GOP-Fox narrative: Lie, lie often, lie convincingly, lie like there’s no tomorrow, lie for political gain, lie for financial gain, lie to the people, lie to yourself.

And when found out, lie about that too.

Gary L. Vaughn

Sun, Jan 29th, 2012 at 10:46 am

Thanks to the Internet, and the Social Media, their lies are catching up to them. It’s like the GOP is brain dead. They say something today that is 180 degrees from what they said in the past, only to be shown a video of their first statement. And they do it time and time again. Or like Jon Kyle (R-AZ) “That wasn’t intended to be a factual statement!”-(Staffer). I guess they feel that their supporters will just keep voting for them, no matter what or how big the pain. But let’s be honest! That $140 each month from Food Stamps is a huge ‘carrot’ to dangle in front of the poor, so they don’t go out and look for that non-existent job! SNARK!

jlt

Sun, Jan 29th, 2012 at 1:39 pm

The facts are catching up to the lying liars;;;hopefully it will be in time:

The food stamp program is backed by agribusiness. It always has been.
Somehow this stigma from the RW that it is Dems and the poor and it is bad…well…they are lying as usual.

Sherri

Mon, Jan 30th, 2012 at 2:22 pm

Not just agribusiness but business in general. In fact, it’s a form of business welfare in which WE subsidize private industry poverty-level wages via taxpayer-provided food stamps. ‘Course, Newt doesn’t want to talk about THAT half of the food stamp equation now, does he?

Reynardine

Sun, Jan 29th, 2012 at 11:25 am

My godson has been partial to country music, but it’s nothing Johnny Cash or June Carter would have recognized as such, and it’s getting worse. Since the runup to Iraq, it has been war propaganda, and now, as he showed me, it is pushing two more ideas:
(A) Intellectuals and “book-larnin'” are bad.
(B) Working crappy jobs for below minimum wage is virtuous.

You figure it out.

boil

Sun, Jan 29th, 2012 at 11:46 am

and lets not forget the NO#1 state[s] that watch and download porno? utah, tx, red states. the bible belt click through’s on porn sites are HUGE…. i work in IT, and have seen these stats.

This makes more sense than people may realize. Dominionism and fundamentalism (at least the Christian variants) TEACH people to hate themselves. Literally.

The thinking goes like this: If you’re having a hard time and have problems a slap on the forehead won’t fix (like unemployment, disability, or homelessness), then you must be sinning and a bad person, and God is angry with you (or you’re holding onto your sin and really don’t want to let it go, or you want to be disabled and have a “pity party”… or something like that). If you’re comfortable and happy then you must be doing right and a good person, and God is showing His pleasure by giving you good things (contrary to the Bible, especially my favorite book Job).

Then they throw in scriptures in the mix such as the one about making one’s self less so God can be more and to count other people (i.e., the preachers and church) more important than you, and add dismissive and outright abusive treatment (preaching hellfire and damnation sermons), and other teachings and programmings, and the end result is self hatred.

I’ve been fighting it for decades, and some of the walkaways I’ve talked with have also related that they were taught to hate themselves. It’s a devastating thing to deal with, and some of us will probably fight it to our dying day.

You see, only the elites, the comfortable, the “Big Givers” to the church have the right to love themselves, even though they preach “You must first be able to love yourself before you can love others”. That last, by the way, is PURE BULLSHIT. It’s easy to love others while hating one’s self. Indeed, it’s part of the problem, because you are forced to love people who treat you like shit… if you don’t, you are going to Hell according to the “Good Christians”. It’s a symptom of self-hatred. That way, you will hurt yourself in helping others (or in giving to the preacher – oops church – oops God). (And before someone speaks up… the love is real, even if it IS FORCED. Don’t tear down the person any more by claiming otherwise… it does NOT help.)

This self-hatred programming can be seen in the common reaction of someone (usually a religious American) who was homeless, went through a shelter “recovery program”, and got a job helping the people just like they used to be. In most cases, those individuals become quite negative and dismissive towards the homeless “clients” they serve, because now they’ve got a decent job and a home… thus God must love them and they’re a “good person”, not like before when a slap on the head didn’t do a damned thing and they were suffering.

Reynardine

Sun, Jan 29th, 2012 at 12:56 pm

It figures that if once proud-of-upward-mobility Americans are to be remade into peons, they have to be kept dumb, jingoistic, and grateful for crumbs. They must, in short, be like the ideal pit bull: willing to take a whuppin’ from their owner while ferociously defending him from everybody else (and attacking whoever he tells them to). In this, both the church programming and the propaganda that passes for country music are useful tools. So is Fox News.

Jane

Sun, Jan 29th, 2012 at 2:21 pm

I think that’s exactly it, they use country music like they’ve Alexa used religion to control the.poor and keep them from rioting about the unfairness.

Crispinseattle

Sun, Jan 29th, 2012 at 1:07 pm

Nice response. I have known several people who were raised in a fundamentalist culture who have ongoing, lifelong self hatred issues. One, an ex-boyfriend, said he could remember being 5 years old and coming home from church angry and frightened because he was taught that he could never be good enough to “make Jesus happy.” Seriously? This is what they’re teaching 5 year olds? He had a host of issues with sex, porn, drinking, and so many patterns of self destruction. It was sad because he was a really great, smart guy…most of the time. It was almost like as soon as he found some peace of mind, those old “tapes” would come back to haunt him. I’ve had friends who dealt with it as well, although most have managed to prevail. I was much more blessed to have been raised in a church that promoted love and peace. Not that I didn’t (and still do) have to fight my battles of self doubt, mostly from living in a society that doesn’t truly value women, but I don’t have that core belief of unworthiness. Red states, poor states, fundamentalist states all have the highest rates of poverty, divorce, teen pregnancy, and, according to a recent commentator, internet porn usage. Charming. I am so glad that I left the deep South for the liberal wonderland of Western Washington!

A Walkaway

Sun, Jan 29th, 2012 at 3:23 pm

Your description “It was almost like as soon as he found some peace of mind, those old “tapes” would come back to haunt him.” is so accurate and apt. I was in the dominionist churches for only three years – it doesn’t take that long especially if they really bear down on you.

Oh, and yes, that WAS what they were teaching 5 year olds… and the little girls were taught to always be submissive to males.

James Davidson

Sun, Jan 29th, 2012 at 11:19 pm

First I’d Like To Offer You My Compliments & Express To You That As A 65 Year Old Lifelong Student Of The Bible & Servant Of Jesus Christ, I’ve Never Once Met A Repulican’t, Conservawon’t, Right (But Seriously Wrong) WingNUT, TEAhadist Terrorist Or Libertarian That IS A Christian Or Actually Knows Jesus (See 1 John 2:2-5). They Are All Counterfeit Christians Serving ONLY Their God’s SATAN & MAMMON (Money). Please Verify The Following Four (4) Scriptures If You Would & You’ll See What I’m Saying Is True 1) Satan Is The God Of This World & He Has BLINDED The MINDS Of All Those (As Above) Who REFUSE To Believe The Truth (2 Cor.4:4) 2) In Deceiving The Entire World (Rev.12:9) 3) Into Believing A False Gospel & Preaching A Gospel Of Prosperity Rather Than Humility (Gal.1:6-9) & 4) Following A Totally Counterfeit Christianity (2 Cor.11:13-15) & No Marvel IF Satan’s MINISTERS (I Add Pastors, Reverends & Priests) PRETEND To Be Men/Women Of Righteous Character, When Even Satan Himself PRETENDS To Be An Angel Of Light. Finally The Hebrew & Greek Words: Hades, Sheol & Gehenna Which Have All Been Translated As Hell Simply Mean Nothing More Than The Grave So Everyone That Has Ever Lived & Died On This Earth Is Now Figuratively Sleeping In Hell Awaiting The Voice Of Jesus To Awaken Them (See John 5:25, 28-29 & 1 Thess. 4:16 & Many Others) & Everyone Alive Today Will Also Be Visiting Hell Prior To Jesus’s Return To Establish His Kingdom (Government) Right Here On This Earth (See Rev.5:10, 11:15 & 20:4-6) & Not In Heaven Where No One But Jesus Has Ever Ascended Up To (See John 3:13). The Point I’m Attempting To Make Is Just Because These Idiots Liars Claim To Be Christians That Are Serving Jesus Does Not Make It True, Anymore Than Me Claiming To Be A World Class Ballet Dancer. Jim Davidson Which Backwards Is Mij Nosdivad Which Is The Name I Use On FaceBook Where I’m Attempting To Awaken The Sleeping Sheeple Lemmings & My 4,400 Friends With EDUCATION & ENTERTAINMENT. Feel Free & Request My Friendship If You Wish. Regards.

A Walkaway

Mon, Jan 30th, 2012 at 10:27 am

You know, you just did to me what the dominionists always do? Shoved the Bible in my face and ranted.

I’ve got a question that I hope you will think about. I’ve med a Satanist. She was a good person, kind, and thoughtful. That’s the reputation others have shared with me regarding Satanists that they knew… that they were decent people and their religious views encouraged kindness and decency towards others.

In other words, they were practicing what Jesus preached – and they were doing so because that was what they felt was right.

The one I met was also far more accepting of my beliefs and experience than most “Good Christians” – she was far more tolerant of others than I’ve ever experienced in the churches (outside of the church we now attend – the Unitarian Universalist church).

The question I would like you to ponder is “How does this information – the real experiences of real people, fit in with the things I just preached?”

A Walkaway

Mon, Jan 30th, 2012 at 10:28 am

oops… typo. met a Satanist, not med a Satanist.

Star Man

Sat, Feb 4th, 2012 at 11:53 am

Do they love their enemies? Jesus distinguishes between loving those who love us and loving our enemies. He said even the heathen love those who love them. Jesus said a lot. The bible says a lot, but it’s not much good for anything if we don’t read it all, receive all of it.

A Walkaway

Sat, Feb 4th, 2012 at 3:40 pm

She probably knows the Bible better than you do.

Just because someone isn’t Christian doesn’t mean they don’t know or understand the Bible… and people I’ve known who weren’t Christian not only could quote you chapter and verse, but also the specific history behind many of them and in a few cases, even the language in it’s original form (Aramaic, Hebrew, or early Greek).

Many of those same people revered Jesus’ teachings, but rejected Christianity. (Especially those who had researched enough to REALLY understand some of His sayings.)

You need to winnow the Bible, find the grain and throw out the chaff. Even Jesus spoke to it – telling the listeners that they searched and searched the scriptures, and the scriptures pointed toward Him – implying that the message was beyond the written word. (He also summed up the whole of it in a few sentences: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself” (RSV) and “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you!”, along with his teachings about helping the poor and needy – all in line with the teachings of the prophets and paralleling what other religions have taught, I might add.)

(The “receive all of it” you wrote sounds a bit fundamentalist/dominionist to me.)

Star Man

Sat, Feb 4th, 2012 at 11:46 am

@Walkaway So, I gather from your post that you speak for God? There are some ‘churches’ out there that are far from the center. You don’t speak as if you have the basics down. The bible says of people who reject God that ‘thinking they are wise, they become fools.’ I couldn’t get that out of my head while reading your post. The chart in this article shows all the states as being red. Of course, it is only a foodstame usage chart. Or is it? the way the article is written in talking about Dems vs Republicans, it can look to anyone who doesn’t know which states are tradionally democrat, and which republican,that only republicans use foodstamps. And republicans use deceptive charts? With statistics and religion, both, a dishonest person after their own gain can manipulate data and scripture to say just about anything they want. If a bad church abuses people, or misleads them, that doesn’t mean that they will get an exemption from God when it comes to TRUTH. What I hate about liberalism is how liberals seem to think that anyone who disagrees with them is unintelligent and unenlightened. I wonder what terrible circumstaces liberals have come out of the think that socialism is so good? I don’t intend to defend any political party. I believe our government was created to be a republic, and should be only as big as needed to ensure the rights of the citizens. Foodstamps? maybe a good indicator to measure the basic state of the economy, but my priority when it comes to politics and the coming election is the protecting of the constitution. It was written to protect against not only the greedy and power hungry, but the ignorant. God bless.

Shiva (Moderator)

Sat, Feb 4th, 2012 at 12:14 pm

“The bible says of people who reject God that ‘thinking they are wise, they become fools.’”

Lets remember that applies to those who believe in the bible. For those who don’t, the one who believe in the bible are the fools. It works both ways

A Walkaway

Sat, Feb 4th, 2012 at 12:34 pm

God Bless. Nice curse. I’ve heard it often. Usually it really means “I hope you burn in hell!” Don’t try to claim otherwise because I used to be that way. I KNOW your lies.

I think of conservatives as either brainwashed or ignorant – depending on their intelligence. A few are intelligent but use conservatism to defend their own wealth and power.

I used to be one. Thoroughly brainwashed. The elites (and churches) use emotions rather than facts to do it.

BTW… liberals value the constitution more than you accuse or would believe. On the other hand, conservatives try their best to limit the freedoms of others (freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom of religion, I could name quite a few) while reserving those very things only for themselves. Oh, they claim to support those freedoms, but only if people fit their chosen stereotypes.

I suggest you read some of the other threads. You might be surprised.

A Walkaway

Sun, Jan 29th, 2012 at 12:09 pm

BTW… very good article, and I really like that first picture even though it is disturbing. It contains so much truth!!!

majii

Sun, Jan 29th, 2012 at 1:49 pm

These are the same folks who, here in GA, show up at my doctor’s office on Medicaid and Medicare while I show up with a United Healthcare ID card. These are the same people here who say that it’s those who look like myself that are being assisted most by the government. These are the same people who show up in checkout lines in grocery stores here with EBT cards when I show up with a check card. These are the people who say that they hate the government, the debt/deficit, that the government spends “too much,” and that they hate the federal government’s attempt to assist the disadvantaged. They’re taking advantage of the system, but refuse to admit it, and they vote like clockwork for the republicans who would snatch the food from their and their kids’ mouths and see them die on the streets of this country. The cognitive dissonance never ceases to amaze me.

sachet

Sun, Jan 29th, 2012 at 2:38 pm

You nailed them.

A Walkaway

Sun, Jan 29th, 2012 at 3:14 pm

They look down on us too, because we are on food stamps and if it wasn’t for a little local program… without health care too. Even though the ones we’ve heard snide comments from are on SS Disability (often because of “occasional diarrhea” or something minor like that), have Medicare, a regular income (from disability), and because they qualify, they can also get food stamps, assistance with bills, and so on.

In fact, I might have died last month if it wasn’t for that little health care program. I had a stroke (TIA – recovered in a few days). The program that may have saved my life has been under local Republican pressure – they wanted to turn the money used to help people like myself over the the for-profit hospitals “to cover the bills for indigent people”. Never mind that those same hospitals also have funds to cover people without insurance or income, and usually by the time you go to the hospital, a lot of damage has been done.

The rules of the game work to keep people poor… and if you try to better yourself you face being cut off from aid that keeps you alive – even people like us who make far less than the poverty line for this area.

Rocky in Texas said...

Sun, Jan 29th, 2012 at 2:08 pm

If I was a betting man…

I would bet that the viewers of fox use more food stamps than the viewers of MSNBC and/or cnn…

sachet

Sun, Jan 29th, 2012 at 2:38 pm

I bet that, too.

Rocky in Texas said...

Sun, Jan 29th, 2012 at 2:12 pm

So,lets see if I have this straight…

The red states purchase the most porn…

The red states use the most food stamps…

Maybe if the white guy’s in these red states would watch a little less porn…

U no where i’m going !!

Jane

Sun, Jan 29th, 2012 at 2:19 pm

They have no self control. It’s a matter of study, been proven as fact. Red states have more divorce more single mothers more porn watching more teenage mothers less college grads etc.

The Platzner Post

Sun, Jan 29th, 2012 at 2:18 pm

Not Fox News…It’s Fox Lies!!!

The Platzner Post

Sun, Jan 29th, 2012 at 2:23 pm

It’s not Fox News, and the Republicans…It’s Fox Lies, and the Teahadists!!!

Eykis

Sun, Jan 29th, 2012 at 2:58 pm

The question about Food Stamps that is NEVER answered: Why are EBT/FoodStamps/Welfare being distributed by JPMORGAN of Wall Street and how much do they rake in for this “civic service”?

A Walkaway

Sun, Jan 29th, 2012 at 6:20 pm

It’s called privatization, and it was done for “more efficient use of funds”.

In other words, a pipeline from our taxes to some rich b*st*rd’s wallet.

Down here, even the bureaucracy has been privatized, and according to one employee we know, they’re letting go people left and right and expecting everyone to know how to fill out the forms via computer. It is nearly impossible to get an answer concerning confusing language or lack of provisions for things such as a temporary vs permanent job.

Scottilla

Mon, Jan 30th, 2012 at 10:48 am

AKA “The Verizon method”

Ian

Sun, Jan 29th, 2012 at 3:59 pm

Obviously the cries of smaller and less-meddlesome government are loudest in most of the states which depend on Federal largesse the most. I would point out though that comparing the food stamp emrollments of Bush and Obama is a little unfair only because they take into account 8 years of Bush and only 3 of Obama (even if he did inherit the mess).

Shiva (Moderator)

Sun, Jan 29th, 2012 at 4:19 pm

However, that’s what the claim is right now. More food stamp people under Obama than Bush. There is no choice but to make the comparison to refute the claim

Sarah Jones

Sun, Jan 29th, 2012 at 4:29 pm

:-) The Bush Obama issue was addressed in the numbers, though. From the link: “It’s possible that when the figures for January 2012 are available they will show that the gain under Obama has matched or exceeded the gain under Bush. But not if the short-term trend continues. The number getting food stamps declined by 43,528 in October. And the economy has improved since then.”

The point, however, is that Republicans and Fox claimed that food stamp enrollment was the highest ever under Obama, and this is patently untrue. They did not claim that it “would be” – they said that it was.

“Gingrich goes too far to say Obama has put more on the rolls than other presidents.” and lastly, they proved that the increase was due to state’s efforts to reach out to eligible people. “USDA researchers said the jump in the participation rate happened because of actions by state governments.”

Kyle Rogers

Sun, Jan 29th, 2012 at 6:01 pm

Someone doesn’t understand math at all!!!

Bush added 1.84 million people to the food stamp rolls per year for 8 years. Obama added 4.7 million people to the food stamp rolls per year for 3 years.

4.7 million is MUCH greater than 1.84 million. Please understand simple math before you try to use it.

Shiva (Moderator)

Sun, Jan 29th, 2012 at 6:18 pm

LOL

Is it? Obama has still added fewer people than Bush did. The year count doesn’t matter until you get to the total. 14.7 million bush to 14.2 million for Obama. BINGO!

And the biggest amount of Obama’s came right after Bush left office

Please learn to read before you try to use a language

” Gingrich goes too far to say Obama has put more on the rolls than other presidents. We asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition service for month-by-month figures going back to January 2001. And they show that under President George W. Bush the number of recipients rose by nearly 14.7 million. Nothing before comes close to that.

And under Obama, the increase so far has been 14.2 million. To be exact, the program has so far grown by 444,574 fewer recipients during Obama’s time in office than during Bush’s.”

Lori Alayne Weber Miller

Sun, Jan 29th, 2012 at 6:16 pm

Well that is just deceptive too. The economic downturn started in 2007 blah blah Bushes fault. I call Bullshit! the democrats took control of the House and the senate in 2006 and lame duck Bush was not signing or doing anything unless a democratic house and senate gave it to him for his signature. Also I am capable of googling a Red states blue states map and with the exception of California and Minnesota the states with the least food stamp usage are the upper mid west and they are all red states. the states with the highest food stamp usage with the exception of the Gulf states are all blue. Michigan and Maine and Oregon the darkest on the map and Michigan is high population all blue. I would expect the Gulf states were adversely effected by the gulf oil spill perhaps. Anyway it is tacky of Newt to spin it and it is tacky of you guy to shift blame. It is a symptom of our economy and that is in the shitter and that is just about every one that is in offices fault Newt is probably one of the most culpable and all Obama does is keep pushing the handle.

Jane

Sun, Jan 29th, 2012 at 8:37 pm

So you’re saying the wal street journal lied about economic indicators? You are pretty desperate. Truth is that red states use the most food stamps and bush enrolled more people than Obama. Suck it!

Deborah Montesano

Sun, Jan 29th, 2012 at 8:01 pm

Assistance is used the most where the times are hardest. What that says about red states is that they should soon be turning blue!

Karmen Smith

Sun, Jan 29th, 2012 at 8:48 pm

Good article.

The food stamp program is just one assistance program and is for low income families. The numbers show what happens to eligibility when the economy falls apart.

There are many other kinds of “assistance” programs, however, that target other income groups as well as states themselves. For example, Utah, a decidedly RED state, was in the news recently for having received “the most of any state in a big package of federal emergency agricultural disaster aid” as a result of flooding last year.

This while Orrin Hatch, senator from Utah, goes on record making a point that almost half of Americans pay NO income tax! Imagine such a thing — No Tax?! My point in all this is that Orrin Hatch is a hypocrite of the highest degree and the dominant rhetoric coming out of tea party Utah (Federal government is TOO big and everybody is just wanting handouts) is hypocritical as well.

Whether it is food stamps or other assistance, if the law allows it, and the economy or situation makes someone eligible for the assistance there is no argument. The argument comes when there is hypocrisy or abuse of the system/program.

A Walkaway

Mon, Jan 30th, 2012 at 10:55 am

Half of Americans? Did he count children as Americans? The disabled and unable to work? The people who have been long-term unemployed? I hope he did, because then his comment might make more sense.

They’re all Americans too. The poor pay taxes including income taxes. If they don’t, they face all sorts of penalties and problems, and the IRS goes after them like the heartless institution it is.

I would also disagree that if someone is eligible that there is no argument. They fight hard to keep people from getting the help they need. A colleague of mine is documenting this resistance to helping people. Why is it happening? Because in many states, the aid system has been privatized, and the less they give to people, the more profit the corporation makes. They use all sorts of nasty tricks, like going to a computerized system that is inflexible and not user-friendly, and EXPECTING people to know how to use computers (while cutting employees left and right – after all, people can use their computer to apply!). They used to force people to sit long hours in bare, uncomfortable waiting rooms and then treated them like dirt when they finally got to see a caseworker. That is also well documented and often complained about. I’m waiting for my colleague’s research to be finished and published.

Anne

Mon, Jan 30th, 2012 at 2:55 pm

The red states suffer by comparison with blue states in every category of the quality of life. They have more incidents of obesity, teen pregnancy, lower levels of graduation from high school, a higher number of dropouts, and more teen pregnancies. Yet, they consistently vote for folks who couldn’t care less about them and who want to keep them ignorant so they can continue to get their votes. Texas is a good example, especially under Rick Perry.

A Walkaway

Mon, Jan 30th, 2012 at 9:52 pm

Having lived in rabidly red states for most of my life (maybe all of it), I think the reason why things are so bad is because the quality of life here is dismal and the elites want it that way. Unless you’re lucky (or connected), finding decent employment is difficult at best (even with diplomas on the wall). There may be some decent employers, but for the most part business owners are greedy and will try to get away with everything they can. Places like Florida (and Texas and others) tend to crush dreams and the “Real Person” within each of us.

A friend of mine once related how the kids in his high school (in this beyond-red county) knew they were being groomed to work in the fields and groves, with a few lucky ones (the upper-middle class kids) getting to go to college so they could become the new managers. They lost hope and didn’t care any more and acted it out in many ways. They knew that their lives were already being laid out for them by the wealthy and their own desires and dreams were ignored. This is a common story.

It takes a rare person to resist that destroying pressure and try to rise above it. I’ve been lucky to have known some of those rare people… for instance a young woman who was told to her face that she was trailer trash and would never amount to anything. She was a single mom and received all of the blame game and guilt tripping associated with that in this area. In spite of all of that (and massive bureaucratic pressure), she went to college, was an honor’s student (accepted in the honor’s program), and after graduation entered graduate school and the last I heard, was happily married and had her Master’s in her chosen field. The point to remember is that in this red state, they fought her every inch of the way because she wasn’t one of the rich elites or fit one of the approved stereotypes.

It’s been said that fundamentalism rises when the ordinary people realize the “system” doesn’t work for them. In that view, I guess it could be considered a coping strategy. The really bad thing is that Emperor wannabes (the dominionists) caught on and used fundamentalism to get people to support them. The rich saw another way to manipulate and control “the masses”. Most people don’t have that spark of “Gumption” to keep them going in spite of all the pressure to fail. That pressure never lets up, by the way. It’s something I’m well aware of and struggle against all the time. In most cases, people give up trying and that’s where the problems come from.

(Some rather disjointed thoughts on the subject…)

zumpie

Mon, Jan 30th, 2012 at 6:41 pm

I notice my state, Oregon, though blue has a high rate of food stamp usage—but guess what? A VERY large portion of those individuals are in our one red district (rural and represented by Greg Walden). In typical Puggie self loathing, they have the lowest per capita income, highest substance abuse, massively high (double the rate of urban areas) unemployment, etc. Yet they still whine about “their” money going to taxes.

Oh and this “I want the government pie but don’t want to pay for it” isn’t exclusive to country bumpkins. I’ve twice worked for deeply conservative, anti-tax Republican employers. One was a technical school who largely depending on Pell Grants and other federal aid to survive, the other is a child care center serving many DHS families.

But don’t get them started about taxes and the evils of government waste….